


The Final Show

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 02:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15653535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Lisa plays one final show in Texas before returning home. Only, not without a little meddling.





	The Final Show

**Author's Note:**

> Since the latest version of the story quests mention that Lisa played one final show in Texas before dropping off the radar completely, I tried to figure out how that may have happened. She'll probably explain it later on anyway, but the quests inspired me.

It was the biggest crowd that she'd seen yet. Lisa peeked out at them, feeling the all-too-familiar nerves try to grip her. She was ready. She was going to perform for her hometown, or her old hometown. She'd always dreamed of this day. But not like this. She'd dreamed that her mother would be here, smiling at her from the crowd. That had been a stupid dream, though, back when she'd been a little girl just plucking at her mother's guitar. Although... maybe it wasn't so stupid anymore. After all, she was a Soul Rider, one of Aideen's chosen, she'd seen things and done things that defied explanation. Healed Starshine. Healed herself, when she'd needed to. Even healed her dad, that time when he'd come home from work with a purple thumbnail from some work accident. She'd just about died when he'd called her to tell her that he'd had an accident, her mind immediately racing to the worst conclusions. He worked for Dark Core, okay, anything could have happened to him there. Maybe he'd annoyed his supervisor somehow and ended up having an unfortunate 'accident'. Fortunately, though, all of her terror had been for nothing. Though, it had led to her explaining to him what she was and what she could do. That had been an awkward explanation.

Now, though, Lisa wished that her abilities extended to raising the dead. So that her mother could see her, performing here, in the place where she'd been born. But she couldn't. Lisa closed her eyes, taking a step back and brushing a tear away from her eye.

"Lisa! How many times do I have to tell you to stop ruining your makeup?" Dahlia, her makeup artist, fussed as she batted Lisa's hand away from her face. "Look, you're lucky I started using waterpoof mascara. What's with the waterworks anyway, girl? This is your big night! I've never seen a crowd this big, not for indie musicians, anyway." She grinned out at the crowd.

"Sorry," said Lisa, sniffing. "Just- being here, I guess. It reminds me of my mother."

"Oh, sweetie," said Dahlia, putting a gentle hand on Lisa's shoulder. She gave her a quick hug, though didn't linger for fear of ruining Lisa's outfit. It looked pretty country, like a typical country singer. Even if she was more of a rock girl. "Your mother is up there, looking down on you. See? She's that star, right there." She pointed, and Lisa turned to look at one star that seemed to twinkle more brightly than the others in the twilight sky. She smiled.

"Thanks, Dahlia," said Lisa, finally turning away from the star to look at her makeup artist. "That makes me feel a bit better."

"Good," said Dahlia, patting her on the back. "Now, get out there and show them what their little state produced." Lisa laughed at the joke, even as the butterflies in her stomach returned in full force. To her mind's eye, the whole of Texas had turned out to see her. She was glad, now, that she'd decided to forego the outfit with the rainbow flag plastered across her back. Even though she was wearing her rainbow socks, beneath boots where no one could see them. But she knew they were there.

And then, the opening act came on, a girl with a voice as sweet as syrup. Lisa smiled at the sound that washed over her, letting herself enjoy the song.

"You're on," her stage manager whisper-shouted to her. "Good luck!" Lisa took a deep breath, straightened her spine, checked her equipment and outfit one more time, and stepped out in front of the waiting crowd to cheers and applause. People readied their cameras, a few already flashing in the dying light of the day.

"Hey, everyone," said Lisa, her voice so loud coming from the speakers. She'd heard it before, of course, and had become accustomed to hearing her voice booming out of speakers in pubs and clubs. Even coming out of the speakers of the car stereo, much to her surprise and embarrassment. But then her father had told her that it wasn't on a CD or cassette tape, that it was actually being played on the radio. That had made her blush even harder and panic only a little (okay, a lot). But now, she had to forget her nerves and put on a show that her mother would be proud of. She was, after all, watching her.

Someone else was watching, too, up in the stands. The camera had been ridiculously easy to get, which had been mildly annoying, after all of the difficulty they'd had getting it last time. Of course, the druids had helped this time, though they hadn't been aware of it. In the strange way of druids, they'd decided that brainwashing certain key figures in the lives of the Soul Riders had been a good idea. First, it had been just a few people, some friends and teachers. But then, for some reason, they'd deemed Derek too dangerous. They'd put him to work in the Silverglade post office and spun him some lies about how he'd lived there his whole life. They hadn't manage to erase everything, though, he still remembered that he'd taken photographs of Anne. He didn't, however, remember why he'd taken photos of her, or at least, not the true reason. And he certainly didn't remember that the special camera that only took solar cell batteries was important. He'd just left it lying around in his bedroom, where Sabine had been able to steal it.

And now, Jessica finally held the artifact of immense power in her hands. She smiled at it, even as she captured Lisa within the viewfinder and then took a picture that captured her blinding essence. The aura of a star appeared around her, and Jessica grinned. Perfect. This was exactly what she'd needed.

The show went on for hours. Though she'd initially been nervous, Lisa felt her nerves fading as the songs went by and the crowd continued to love her. By the end of it, she felt the buzz of the crowd rushing through her, making her more energised than ever. She felt like she could sing for hours, especially because her magic healed her throat whenever she started to overdo it. It made hitting the high notes very easy.

But she didn't go on much longer than she'd initially planned. It was late, after all, and people needed to get to bed. But Lisa decided to wind down with one more song, a slower one this time, one dedicated to that special star. It was a good one to finish with, not least because it upset her enough that she couldn't bring herself to sing afterwards. Could barely bring herself to speak. It was a good thing that the crowd roared its approval, cheering and stamping their feet and clapping. Lisa tried to steady her breathing, not wanting the media to catch her breaking down on stage. Well, not again, anyway. It worked, and Lisa was able to wrap the show up nicely.

"Thank you, you've been a great audience!" she called, to the rapturous applause of the crowd. "Texas will always have a special place in my heart- it's my hometown, after all. And I love you all more than you can ever imagine. Thank you for producing me." Someone called out that they loved her too, and Lisa chuckled, grinning. It had been a truly incredible night, one that she'd remember forever.

As she switched the light on in her tour bus, though, and threw down her jacket, Lisa saw something. Or rather, someone. Staring at her from the mirror of her vanity. Lisa shook her head and rubbed her eyes, convinced that she was just seeing herself. But her hair wasn't that long. Slowly, she approached the mirror, her heart thudding hard in her chest. And not from adrenaline this time.

"Mum?" said Lisa, raising her hand to touch the glass. But then, the reflection changed. She could still see herself, but she could also see the woman behind her. She turned, and there she was. Short like her, with the same red hair and green eyes, beautiful. But older. Just the way that Lisa remembered her. Tears stung her eyes again, the lump in her throat returning. Her mother smiled at her.

While Lisa was distracted, Jessica stepped behind her, melting into the shadows. She raised her hand, glowing with dark energy, and placed it gently yet firmly on top of Lisa's head. The dark energy flowed into her, taking her over completely, not that Lisa would ever know. She didn't even see that her eyes had glazed over, becoming dull and lifeless. She was too busy looking at her mother. Just as Jessica had planned. Illusions were so easy for some people. And not everyone needed a Nightmare (which was good, since their Bringer of Nightmares was currently... incapacitated). Lisa continued to stare at Jessica’s illusion, though, being none the wiser to what had just happened. Emotional illusions were incredible like that.

"Sweetie, I'm so proud of you," said Lisa’s mother. "You put on the best show tonight that I've ever seen. You've grown up so much."

"Mum," said Lisa, choking on the word. She knew that she couldn't hug her, though, knowing that she'd just go right through her and end up heartbroken.

"You've come so far," said her mother. "But you can go back home now. To your real home. Jorvik needs you, or so I'm told. I always knew my daughter was special."

"Dad said you'd be proud of me," said Lisa, letting the tears roll freely down her cheeks. There was no Dahlia to scold her for crying now.

"And I am," said her mother. "I'm so proud of you, my little star. I've been watching over you this whole time." Lisa sobbed, wiping her eyes. Her mother smiled again, so gently.

"You can go back to your Starshine now, my darling," said her mother. "I know that he misses you. And you miss him too."

"So much," said Lisa, her heart breaking all over again. "I abandoned him to chase my dream."

"But it made you happy," said her mother. "It made you so happy. I'm sure he'll understand."

"He does," said Lisa. "But I still feel bad."

"Then go," said her mother. "Go right now. There is a flight leaving for Jorvik in a few hours, if you go now, you can make it."

"I will," said Lisa. "I love you, mum. And I miss you so much."

"I love you and miss you too, my little songbird," said her mother. "But it is time for you to fly. Just remember that I will always be with you, until the day that you can come and join me too. But make that time a while away, okay? Give me some daughters in law, maybe even some grandchildren, to watch over too." Lisa laughed, blushing.

Jessica grinned as she watched Lisa talking to herself. She had no idea what the compulsion spell was doing, but her intention was to get Lisa to return to Jorvik as quickly as possible. It was far trickier to open portals anywhere else, and after the mess of sending Anne to Pandoria (and losing a darned Guardian, now they'd have to search for the newborn version of him), they were determined to do this properly. Even if it did take a bit of coordinating, to get someone from Texas all the way to Jorvik unseen.

As soon as Lisa was on the plane, though, Jessica took full control, gripping the edges of Lisa's aura. She didn't allow her to contact anyone, post messages on social media, nothing. She even ensured that Lisa wouldn't be in any photographs. Like Anne, Lisa had to drop off the face of the earth. It was only when Lisa returned to Jorvik Stables that Jessica let go of her influence, retreating so that Herman wouldn't sense her. Wild Whisperers could be sensitive to these things, she'd found. Especially after Sands and Sabine had handled things with such 'grace' before and alerted him to their presence.

"She's on her way," Jessica reported to Sabine once Lisa took off from Jorvik Stables on Starshine. "I gave her the vague direction to go in."

"Perfect," said Sabine. Jessica watched, very pleased, as Lisa rode right into the trap. The scream was music to her ears, far more than Lisa's performance in Texas had been.


End file.
